Many people today own and operate motor homes. Unfortunately, such motor homes are typically large and expensive to operate and awkward to maneuver. More and more, people are towing a conventional automobile behind the motor home, which allows the motor home to be driven to a convenient location, such as an RV site, and the automobile used for local trips.
Virtually every state requires a braking system on the trailing vehicle which is operated by applying the brakes of the towing vehicle. Conventional trailers have been equipped with electric brake systems, inertia brake systems, and even hydraulic brake systems tied to the towing vehicle. Each of these braking systems is specifically designed to cooperate with the braking system of the towing vehicle.
In contrast, an automobile towed by a motor home has its own self-contained braking system. Usually this system is a closed hydraulic circuit with a master cylinder that is activated by an operator depressing the brake pedal. Typically, a vacuum booster is incorporated between the brake pedal and master cylinder which employs vacuum drawn from the intake manifold of the automobile to assist the braking action. It has proven impossible to the present day to provide a commercially acceptable system to connect the brake system of the motor home to an automobile being towed to allow simultaneous application of the brakes in both vehicles. Unfortunately, most motor home operators today simply ignore the state laws and operate their vehicles with no braking action from the automobile in tow. The consequences in both property damage and personal injury from this practice is clear.
Attempts have been made in the past to operate the braking system of a towed vehicle where the vehicle towed has its own self-contained braking system. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,771 to McCurry, et al discloses a braking system for a towed vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,674,349 to Phillips discloses a brake connection system between two automobiles which requires the hydraulic circuit of the vehicle being towed to be rerouted. Clearly, a need exists for a system for simultaneously applying brakes between the towing and towed vehicle when the towed vehicle has a self-contained braking system.